Wakilii

Hon Balyeku v Ali Buk (Miscellaneous Application No. 153 of 2020)

Industrial Court · [2021] UGIC 80 · 2021 Application Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application challenging taxation ruling by the Registrar arising from consent award in labour dispute
Decision
Taxation ruling set aside and bill of costs re-taxed at reduced amount

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 2 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 2 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Citations rising — 3 citing cases on record, 3 in the most recent three data years. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The Industrial Court set aside the Registrar's taxation ruling and re-taxed the bill of costs at UGX 9,403,400. The court held that instruction fees should be calculated at 10% of the claim amount under Rule 1(d). Fees for drawing court documents such as affidavits of service, witness statements, and scheduling memoranda fall under Rule 10(3) and should be allowed at UGX 50,000 for drawing plus UGX 20,000 per extra copy. Disbursements are properly allowable as costs incurred by the litigant during litigation, though not covered by the Regulations.

Outcome

Taxation ruling set aside and bill of costs re-taxed at reduced amount

Facts

The respondent filed a labour claim seeking UGX 11,334,000 as special damages plus general and exemplary damages. On 25 September 2018, by consent of both parties, an award of UGX 7,000,000 was entered with costs to be discussed. The parties either did not discuss costs or disagreed, and the matter proceeded to taxation before the Registrar. On 28 October 2020, the Registrar granted costs of UGX 17,270,000. The applicant challenged this taxation ruling, arguing that the Registrar incorrectly applied the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018 in calculating instruction fees, fees for drawing documents, and other items. The respondent did not file submissions in response.

Issues

  1. Whether the Registrar correctly applied the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018 in taxing instruction fees.
  2. Whether the Registrar correctly taxed fees for drawing court documents under Rule 10(3) of the Sixth Schedule.
  3. Whether the Registrar correctly taxed fees for drawing pleadings under Rule 10(1) of the Sixth Schedule.
  4. Whether the Registrar was entitled to allow disbursements in the bill of costs.
  5. Whether the Registrar correctly allowed fees for attendances.

Orders

  • The taxation ruling of the Registrar dated 28/10/2020 is set aside.
  • The bill of costs is re-taxed at UGX 9,403,400 (nine million four hundred three thousand four hundred only).
  • Instruction fees allowed at UGX 1,133,400.
  • Fees for drawing various court documents allowed at specified amounts per item.
  • Attendances allowed at UGX 2,760,000.
  • Disbursements allowed at UGX 950,000.

Rules and key headnotes

Taxation of Costs — Instruction Fees — Calculation Method
Instruction fees in taxation of costs are calculated at 10% of the claim amount under Rule 1(d) of the Sixth Schedule to the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations.
Taxation of Costs — Drawing Court Documents — Affidavits and Witness Statements
An affidavit of service, witness statement, scheduling memorandum, and hearing notice fall under Rule 10(3) of the Sixth Schedule to the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 as 'all other necessary court documents' and should be allowed at UGX 50,000 for drawing and UGX 20,000 for each extra copy.
Taxation of Costs — Drawing Pleadings — Memorandum of Claim
A memorandum of claim, summary of evidence, list of authorities, and trial bundle fall under Rule 10(1) of the Sixth Schedule as pleadings and similar documents, and should be allowed at UGX 300,000 for drawing and UGX 50,000 for each extra copy. A summary of evidence and list of authorities forming part of the memorandum of claim are not charged separately.
Taxation of Costs — Disbursements — Allowability
Disbursements are properly allowable in a bill of costs as costs incurred by the litigant in the course of litigation, including transport, accommodation, and other expenses legitimately and reasonably expended, notwithstanding that they are not expressly covered under the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations 2018.
Taxation of Costs — Consent Agreements — Compliance with Law
Where parties or counsel agree on items in taxation, what they agree on must be within the law. The court will review agreed items to ascertain whether they conform to the taxation rules.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases citing this judgment (2)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Hon_Balyeku_v_Ali_Buk_(Miscellaneous_Application_No._153_of_2020)_[2021]_UGIC_80_(22_October_2021)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.